


Conclusion

by Xeen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-25 00:51:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3790471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xeen/pseuds/Xeen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vignette to S03E19 BROKEN ARROW<br/>Felicity/Ray break-up</p>
            </blockquote>





	Conclusion

**Conclusion**

 

Ray was giving his glove the final touch to what was the next logical improvement. He let out a small sigh. Perfect, he thought with his usual glee. There was something he needed to do next. Something he'd been postponing out of... Out of what?

_Let's put it bluntly, Ray, you're a coward._ You're not, his alter ego echoed back in his head. _You don't deserve her._ Yes, you do, his inner self protested. "Stop it!" he spat.

"Stop what?"

She was here. He blinked twice. He twirled on his heels, a convenient smile plastered on his face. He was not ready. Come to think of it, he won't probably ever be.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" the exuberant blonde asked right away. "Are you hurt? I've been in the building all morning. You don't call, you don't text back? What's wrong with your phone?" She checked her own screen with a pout.

He shook his head, unable to look away. He scrabbled about in his head, taking her all in, her fresh expectant face, her dazzling smile, the tight-fitting red dress, and five inch cut-out peeptoe sandals.

"No, I'm not," he managed to say. "Hurt, I mean." He felt out of breath. He knew it needed to be done. In another timeline, under very different circumstances, Felicity Smoak and Ray Palmer might have had a fair chance. Not here, not now, not in this particular moment in time. His window of opportunity was closing fast. To be honest, it was already closed.

He knew from the start he had been her rebound guy. She was struggling. He thought he had a chance, and made all the wrong textbook moves while she had been doing her best to simply move on with her life. And she let him bully her. Why? She was so bright and so determined to let the past rest.

Yet, he could see it. She wasn't ready. Right now, she was great friend material. He had witnessed her relationship with Oliver first hand, time and time again. It was like observing some king of gravitational interaction. There was an inevitability to their contrived dance. She could try to disregard the pull, denying him, Queen or even herself the truth, a blind man could see it. They belonged together. He knew he had to let her go.

"Felicity, we have to talk."

"I bet we do, mister," she flirted back. "You were a no show this morning when I woke up. Urgent ATOM business?"

"Felicity..." he was hesitating now, mesmerised by the funny tilting of her head and the bright red of her lipstick. "Roy. He's gone," he stuttered.

"Yeah, no sweat, he'll be back eventually, when things with Captain Lance are settled. Team Arrow needs him."

Team Arrow... "Let's not... I mean... How's Oliver holding up?"

"Pretty well considering."

"Shouldn't you be with him, I mean, patting him in the back and planning your next move? In the batcave, I mean Arrow cave..."

"We don't call it a cave per se and Captain Lance made sure it would be useless for a while."

"I see. Listen... I don't know Oliver very well but he's a great fighter and a decent guy."

"Not necessarily in that order," she giggled. She sat on the corner of his desk.

"Yes. Right."

"What's going on Ray? You barely said anything yesterday, skipped breakfast in bed, and your topic of the day is what? Oliver? You don't have to be threatened by his fighting skills. Though he's way ahead of you, like way! Five years on a desert island, a two year vigilante stunt, well, you know."

"Well, I don't but that's not the point. Felicity... I said I love you," he swallowed his breath, "and it was too soon and obviously a mistake..." He glanced at her with a weird chuckle that got stuck in his throat.

"Ray..."

He waved his hand in dismissal. "Let's say I like you, okay. I like you a lot. And I think you like me. I maybe a scientist and a successful entrepreneur, I can still read the signs. And when you're with Oliver, you're like a ginormous blinking neon sign, Felicity."

"... lit like Christmas," she sighed in a whisper.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind." She looked at her feet. "We're really doing this? Is it what you want? Full disclosure then." She locked her eyes with his, defiantly. "You're not the first one, you know. He told me he loved me, Oliver,- and I mean like... repeatedly," she added in desperation, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Oh..."

She squared her shoulders unwittingly. "And he made it pretty clear that being the Arrow he cannot be with anyone. Not Laurel,-"

"Laurel? Huh, I had no id..."

"Not Sara,-"

"Really?"

"Certainly not me." Pocketing her phone, she stood up, facing him. "FYI, I didn't say it back to him either. It makes me think that I'm the one who doesn't want to commit."

"Humm..." he cleared his throat. "You wanted to, right?" His eyebrows raised to his scalp. "Didn't you?"

Her eyes went wide.

He frowned. "For what it's worth, he cannot be the Arrow, not any more."

"Ray, can we..." The insistent buzz of her phone stopped her. She looked at the screen. "Ray, I'm going to have to take that. It's Oliver." She listened intently. "Something happened to Thea."

"Go. Go help him... go do whatever you guys do. I'll ask only one thing of you. Don't ever forget that I'm your friend. I'll be right here when you need me. Go, go!"

She mouthed a silent thank you and scurried away, the phone pressed to her ear.

 


End file.
